System and method of serving data messages

ABSTRACT

A system and method of serving text-based data messages to a caller identification (caller ID) system in a telecommunications network environment may overwrite source-specific information in a selected data packet header field with text-based message data. A protocol translator may enable text data to be served to a caller ID system used in conjunction with a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone as well as with a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) device. Text messages addressed and routed to a caller ID enabled device may be displayed on the caller ID display.

This is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/915,016, filed Jul. 25, 2001.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate generally to delivering datamessages in a communications network, and more particularly to a systemand method of serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system in a telecommunications system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional caller identification (caller ID) systems employ analphanumeric display or other monitor to display the telephone number ofthe source from which an incoming telephone call has originated;additionally, some such systems are adapted to display a name or otheridentifying string of alphanumeric characters associated with thetelephone number. Though some caller ID systems support such nameidentification, association of identifying text with the telephonenumber identification feature is more typically enabled at the devicereceiving the telephone call.

Even the most sophisticated conventional caller ID systems are notcapable of receiving text-based messages transmitted from a remotedevice, nor are such systems capable of displaying such messages. Therehas been a continuing and growing need for a system and method ofdelivering text-based data messages to a caller ID system employingexisting protocols and equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating a datacommunication network environment in which an embodiment of a system andmethod of serving data messages may be employed.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are simplified high-level-block diagrams illustratingembodiments of a system serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system.

FIG. 3 is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating componentsof one embodiment of an Integrated Access Device.

FIG. 4 is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating componentsof one embodiment of a message server.

FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating the general operationalflow of one embodiment of a method of serving text-based data messagesto a caller identification system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention overcome various shortcomings ofconventional technology, providing a system and method of servingtext-based data messages to a caller identification (caller ID) system.

In accordance with some aspects of the present invention, computerserver hardware or software may be employed to overwrite source-specificinformation in a selected data packet header field ordinarily reservedfor identifying the source of the data packet; text-based message datamay replace the source-specific information. A protocol translator mayenable text data to be served to a caller ID system used in conjunctionwith a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone as well as with aSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) device. Text messages addressed androuted to a caller ID enabled device may be displayed on the caller IDdisplay.

The foregoing and other attendant aspects of various embodiments of thepresent invention will be apparent upon examination of the followingdetailed description thereof in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a simplified high-level blockdiagram illustrating a data communication network environment in whichan embodiment of a system and method of serving data messages may beemployed. A network system 100 may be configured to facilitatepacket-switched data transmission of text, audio, video, Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP), multimedia, and other data formats known inthe art. System 100 may operate in accordance with various networkingprotocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), InternetProtocol (IP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Simple Mail TransferProtocol (SMTP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Real-time TransportProtocol (RTP), Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), SessionAnnouncement Protocol (SAP), Session Description Protocol (SDP), andSession Initiation Protocol (SIP). Those of skill in the art willappreciate that a system and method of serving text-based data messagesto a caller ID system may be employed in conjunction with numerous otherprotocols known in the art or developed and operative in accordance withknown principles.

Network access devices 120A-120C may be coupled via one or morecommunications networks 110A-110C enabling data communication betweenand among network access devices 120A-120C as described in detail below.Additionally, network access devices 120A-120C may be coupled withperipheral devices such as, inter alia, a telephone 171 or wirelesstelephone 172. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that networkaccess devices 120A-120C and any attendant peripheral devices may becoupled via one or more networks 110A-110C as illustrated in FIG. 1.

For simplicity, data communications such as the foregoing, i.e.involving data transmissions between network access devices 120A-120C,may be discussed in the present disclosure with reference to calls. Theterm “call,” as used herein, may refer to audio transmissions (e.g.voice, digital audio, or telephone signals), video data transmissions,text-based services (e.g. “short message service” (SMS) or “instant textmessaging”), multimedia-based message delivery, or any otherpacket-based data communication as is known in the art.

Calls may be any real-time or near-real-time audio, video, text, ormultimedia-based message transmissions across a computer network (i.e.an “on-line” message transmission). Examples of such transmissionsinclude, but are not limited to, user-to-user or user-to-multi-usercommunications involving electronic conveyance of one or more digitalmessages such as data packets. Accordingly, examples of calls mayinclude the following: electronic text “chat” or “talk” messaging;electronic mail (e-mail); SMS or instant text messaging;video-conferencing; and internet or other IP-based telephony, which mayemploy VoIP.

In some embodiments, for instance, network access devices 120A-120C maybe personal desktop or laptop computers, workstations, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), personal communications systems (PCSs), wirelesstelephones, or other network-enabled devices. The scope of the presentdisclosure is not limited by the form or constitution of network accessdevices 120A-120C; any apparatus known in the art which is capable ofdata communication on networks 110A-110C is within the scope andcontemplation of the inventive system and method.

Each individual network 110A-110C may also include or be coupled, eitherdirectly or indirectly, to other networkable devices known in the art inaddition to one or more of the following, for example: storage media140; application server 135; telephone network server 150; and wirelesstelephone base station 160. It is well understood in the art that anynumber or variety of computer networkable devices or components may becoupled to networks 110A-110C without inventive faculty. Examples ofother devices include, but are not limited to, the following: servers;computers; workstations; terminals; input devices; output devices;printers; plotters; routers; bridges; cameras; sensors; or any othernetworkable device known in the art.

A network 110A-110C may be any communication network known in the art,including the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a virtual private network (VPN), or any similarly operatingsystem linking network access devices 120A-120C and similarly capableequipment. Further, networks 110A-110C may be configured in accordancewith any topology known in the art such as, for example, star, ring,bus, or any combination thereof In operation, networks 110A-110C maygenerally enable unicast and multicast network transactions, i.e.two-way point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, or multipoint-to-multipointdata transfer between and among network access devices 120A-120C.

Application server 135 may be coupled to network 110A which supportsreceipt and transmission of data packets. Telephone network server 150may be configured to allow two-way data communication between differentnetworks, such as networks 110B and 110C as depicted in FIG. 1.Additionally or alternatively, telephone network server 150 maycommunicate with a public-switched telephone network (PSTN), a plain oldtelephone service (POTS) network, an Integrated Services Digital Network(ISDN), a private branch exchange (PBX) telephone switchboard, or anyother telephone network. As illustrated in FIG. 1, telephone networkserver 150 may be coupled to wireless base station 160, which supportstwo-way communication between telephone network server 150 and wirelesstelephone 172.

A system and method of serving text-based data messages to a caller IDsystem may be implemented, for example, at telephone network server 150or application server 135. Additionally or alternatively, some or all ofthe functionality described in detail below may be incorporated into aplurality of distributed servers situated on, or operatively coupled to,one or more of networks 110A-110C.

As noted briefly above, a caller ID system may incorporate a displaygenerally to display the telephone number of the source from which anincoming telephone call has originated. The FIG. 1 network arrangementincorporating an embodiment of a system and method of serving text-baseddata messages allows a caller ID system coupled to telephone 171 orsupported by wireless telephone 172, for example, additionally oralternatively to receive and to display text-based messages (such as maybe transmitted via SMS or alphanumeric pager technology).

In some embodiments, a system and method of serving text-based datamessages to a caller ID system utilize features of the SIP communicationprotocol. While the following discussion addresses embodiments employingSIP for simplicity, those of skill in the art will appreciate that thesystem architecture and functionality set forth below are not limited toSIP implementations.

FIG. 2A is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating anembodiment of a system serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system. A message source 220, such as a desktop computeror workstation, for example, may generally correspond to an apparatussuch as network access devices 120A-120C described above with referenceto FIG. 1. Similarly, telephone 271 and wireless telephone 272A may beequivalent to those depicted and described with reference to FIG. 1.Telephone 271 may be an ordinary POTS telephone having caller IDfunctionality enabled through either an integrated display or aperipheral attachment (not shown). In the following description, bothwireless telephone 272A and wire-line telephone 272B are assumed to beSIP enabled; each SIP enabled telephone 272A, 272B implements anintegrated caller ID function.

During operation of the FIG. 2A embodiment, a text-based message may betransmitted from message source 220 to POTS telephone 271, SIP enabledtelephones 272A, 272B, or some combination thereof, through a messageserver 250. Message server 250 may generally correspond to telephonenetwork server 150 described above with reference to FIG. 1;accordingly, message server 250 may provide the functionality oftelephone network server 150 mentioned above, for example, in additionto serving text-based messages as set forth in detail below.Alternatively, message server 250 or its functionality may beincorporated into a general purpose network device such as applicationserver 135, also described above.

As noted briefly above, POTS telephone 271 and SIP enabled telephones272A, 272B may support a caller ID feature which enables display ofincoming call information on an alphanumeric display. In this regard,SIP enabled telephones 272A, 272B may be capable of packet-switched datacommunication supporting text-based data transactions in a protocol usedby the network (SIP, in this example). The FIG. 2A caller ID enabledPOTS telephone 271, however, may be coupled to an Integrated AccessDevice (IAD) 260. As set forth in detail below, IAD 260 may couple POTStelephone 271 to message server 250, enabling the FIG. 2A embodiment toserve text-based data messages to the caller ID feature of POTStelephone 271.

Message source 220 may be embodied in a combination of hardware,firmware, and software; message source 220 may be capable of executingapplication program code responsive to user input. Application software(such as a text or chat message application, an e-mail application, orthe like) at message source 220 may support composition of a text-baseddata message, which may be addressed to an IP address representing POTStelephone 271 or SIP telephones 272A, 272B, for example. A text-basedmessage composed and addressed as set forth above may be routed tomessage server 250, which may queue all such messages for immediate orfuture delivery.

Message server 250 may ascertain the identity of one or more intendedrecipients through parsing the header of a message, for example, orthrough other techniques of routing data packets known in the art;message server 250 may then direct a message accordingly. Text-based SIPmessages may be delivered directly to the caller ID feature of SIPenabled telephones 272A, 272B. Text-based SIP messages may be deliveredindirectly to POTS telephone 271, through IAD 260.

A system and method of serving text-based data messages to a caller IDsystem may translate a message from SIP to a protocol recognized orrequired by POTS telephone 271. In that regard, message server 250 mayroute a message to IAD 260, which may perform a translation, convertingthe message to an appropriate protocol for the caller ID feature of POTStelephone 271.

Message server 250 may parse the header of each SIP data packet asdescribed above; in addition to providing IP address information relatedto each intended recipient, header information in a SIP data packet mayalso include a “display name” field or “caller ID” field. In accordancewith one embodiment, message server 250 may overwrite the contents ofthe display name or caller ID field in each SIP packet, and replace thecontents of such a field with the text-based data message provided bymessage source 220. Additionally or alternatively, any source-specificdata initially present in the display name or caller ID field may beoverwritten at message source 220 during creation of the message, suchthat a text-based data message is originally written directly to theappropriate field in the header of the data packet. In such embodiments,the length of a text-based message which may be served to a caller IDsystem may be limited by the capacity of the overwritten field in theSIP header.

Upon receipt of a data message at SIP enabled telephones 272A, 272B orat IAD 260, information contained in the display name or caller ID fieldof the SIP header may be forwarded to the caller ID feature. Asdescribed above, since the information contained in a packet headerfield may be selectively altered (for example, at message source 220,message server 250, or both) to any desired string of characters, adesired text-based message may be delivered through the caller IDfeature. Whereas a message may be forwarded directly to the caller IDfeature of SIP enabled telephones 272A, 272B, protocol translation maybe required at IAD 260 in order to deliver a text-based data message tothe caller ID feature of POTS telephone 271.

FIG. 2B is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating anembodiment of a system serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system. As illustrated, a system 280 may generallyinclude at least a message receiver 281, a header field modifier 282,and a message router 283. With reference to components described above,it will be appreciated that system 280 may be implemented, for example,in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, resident onmessage server 250; additionally or alternatively, system 280 orcomponents providing equivalent functionality may be resident, in wholeor in part, on message source 220 or IAD 260.

Message receiver 281 may be operative to receive a data packetcomprising text-based message data and a header field containingsource-specific information which may ordinarily identify a source ofthe data packet; by way of example, such a data packet may be generatedat, and transmitted from, message source 220 described above withreference to FIG. 2A.

Header field modifier 282 may be operative to overwrite source-specificinformation in selected data packet header fields. As set forth indetail below, header field modifier 282 may generally replace selectedinformation in packet header fields with the text-based data to bedelivered to the caller ID system associated with the intended recipientof the message.

Message router 283 may be operative to route the modified data packet toone or more intended recipients, such as the caller ID feature of SIPenabled telephones 272A, 272B, or the IAD 260 described above. In analternative embodiment, system 280 may incorporate the protocoltranslation functionality of IAD 260. For example, output from messagerouter 283 may be directed to a protocol translator (not shown) prior totransmission to a recipient; similarly, output from header fieldmodifier 282 may be directed to such a translator prior to delivery tomessage router 283.

FIG. 3 is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating componentsof one embodiment of an Integrated Access Device. As depicted in theFIG. 3 embodiment, IAD 360 may generally correspond to IAD 260 describedabove with reference to FIG. 2A, and may couple an IP network(represented by reference numeral 301) employing SIP to a PSTN devicesuch as POTS telephone 371.

IAD 360 may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or acombination thereof, providing tones (such as dial tones, busy signals,ring indications, and the like) and ring current, respectively, througha tone generator 364 and a ring generator 365. An audiocompressor/decompressor, codec 363, may compress and decompress audiosignals using standardized compression schemes known in the art. Audiocodec 363 may enable audio signals generated at POTS telephone 371 to bepacketized for transmission through SIP Stack 362 and across an IP datanetwork 301; similarly, codec 363 may enable data from network 301(received at SIP Stack 362) to be de-packetized into a format recognizedby POTS telephone 371.

Transmission of converted or translated data may be facilitated by anappropriate interface, such as Network::PSTN interface 366, where the“Network” side of interface 366 may function in accordance with theprotocol employed by the particular network 301 to which IAD 360 isconnected (SIP, in this example), and the “PSTN” side of interface 366may communicate in accordance with a protocol recognized by POTStelephone 371. Control logic 361 may be embodied in hardware, firmware,software, or a combination thereof; control logic 361 may be operativeto control the functionality of, and interaction between, the otherhardware and software components incorporated into IAD 360.Additionally, control logic 361 may implement SIP Stack 362 andcoordinate transmission and receipt of SIP messages.

FIG. 4 is a simplified high-level block diagram illustrating componentsof one embodiment of a message server. In the FIG. 4 arrangement, amessage server 450 may facilitate serving text-based data messages tothe caller ID systems associated with POTS telephone 471 and SIP enabledtelephone 472. Message source 420 may generally correspond to messagesource 220 described above with reference to FIG. 2A; message source 420may be an e-mail client, for example, or an instant message (IM) client.As noted above, application program software at message source 420 maybe employed to compose a message to be transmitted to one or moreintended recipients such as telephones 474 and 472.

In accordance with the FIG. 4 embodiment, message server 450 mayincorporate two incoming servers, namely: SMTP server 452 for receivinginbound messages from e-mail clients; and IM server 453 for receivinginbound messages from IM clients. The nature of the message source 420(e-mail client or IM client), therefore, may determine which of SMTPserver 452 or IM server 453 receives a message transmitted from source420.

Upon receipt at either server 452 or 453, data packets may be forwardedto a message logic subsystem 451. Message logic 451 may determine if anincoming packet is a text message, or part thereof, to be queued forimmediate processing, or a text reminder, or part thereof, to bearchived for subsequent processing at a later time. By way of example, areminder may be forwarded to a message scheduler 457, which may archivethe reminder in an active messages database 459 or other data structure;the reminder may be retrieved by message logic 451 from database 459 asindicated in FIG. 4 for transmission at the appropriate time. Messagesto be delivered without archival may be forwarded by message logic 451to a SIP user agent 456 for immediate transmission.

To facilitate transmission, user agent 456 may initiate a call to theintended recipient of the message. Where the network 401 is operative inaccordance with SIP, for example, user agent 456 may employ the SIPstack 454 to transmit an INVITE request to the intended recipient suchas SIP enabled telephone 472 or POTS telephone 471 (through IAD 460,which may correspond to IAD 360 described above). As noted above, someembodiments of a system and method of serving text-based data messagesmay overwrite certain fields in a data packet header; the message textmay appear in an appropriate header location which is recognized by thereceiving caller ID system. In the FIG. 4 arrangement, user agent 456may substitute message text for the original contents of the “displayname” or the “caller ID” fields in the “from” header, for example;additionally or alternatively, contents of the “subject” header may bereplaced by message text.

A caller ID system at the intended recipient (one or both of telephones471 and 472) may retrieve data from one or more header locations whichordinarily may contain source-specific identifying information. Sincesuch identifying information has been replaced by text-based messagedata (at message source 420, message server 450, or both), the receivingcaller ID system displays a message rather than information identifyingthe source of the call; in the foregoing manner, operation of a systemand method of serving such text-based data messages may be transparentto the served caller ID system.

Additionally, message server 450 may be provided with outgoing audiocapabilities; in such an embodiment, user agent 456 may transmit audiodata, such as a pre-recorded announcement or other audio signal, forexample, advising the intended recipient that an incoming call is atext-based message or reminder. Such pre-recorded audio data may bestored, for example, in a database or other storage medium 458, to beselectively retrieved and transmitted at appropriate times by user agent456.

RTP stack 455 may generally operate in the same manner as the SIP stack454 described above, and may be employed in the case where the network401 is operative in accordance with RTP.

FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating the general operationalflow of one embodiment of a method of serving text-based data messagesto a caller identification system. As indicated at blocks 501 and 502, amessage composed at a remote source and addressed to one or moreintended recipients may be routed to a message server, which may receiveand queue the message for processing as described above with referenceto FIGS. 2A and 4. At block 503, the message server may identify the oneor more intended recipients of the message such that the message orreminder may be routed properly.

Any existing source-specific or source-identifying data in a displayname or caller ID field of a data packet header may be overwritten witha text-based message. Such selective insertion of text-based data intoheader fields of a data packet may occur when the message is originallycreated and transmitted (block 501), or in conjunction with parsing thedata packet to identify intended recipients (block 503), for example.

A system and method of serving data messages may determine whetherreceipt notification is required or requested by the source at decisionblock 504. If no receipt notification is required or requested, themessage may simply be forwarded to the identified intended recipients asindicated at block 505. Where receipt notification is either required orrequested by the source, however, the data packets containing themessage may be routed to the identified intended recipients as indicatedat block 506.

In the FIG. 5 embodiment, a message server may repeatedly forward themessage to the recipient, for example, until the recipient transmits areceipt notification which is received at the message server. In thecase of multiple recipients, the message server may selectively forwardthe message to recipients from which a receipt has not been received.This iterative process is illustrated by the loop from decision block507 back to block 506. Alternatively, when control logic at the messageserver does not receive a notification of receipt, the message servermay archive the message in an active message database to be processedand retransmitted at a later time, for example.

As indicated at block 508, when receipt notification has been received,the message server may forward the receipt notification to the source asconfirmation of a successful message delivery.

With respect to the FIG. 5 embodiment, those of skill in the art willappreciate that a protocol translator or converter device, such as anIAD described above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 3, may be identifiedas a recipient of the message. In operation, such a translator may serveas a sort of proxy for a POTS telephone, such that the telephone itselfis not identified by the message server as an intended recipient, butrather the translator attends to any protocol translation and forwardingtasks.

The foregoing receipt notification may be in the form of a simple SIPmessage transmitted from the recipient to the message server. Forexample, when a SIP telephone begins ringing, a “180 Ringing” responseis transmitted to the caller (in this case, the message server); when arecipient answers a ringing SIP telephone, a “200 OK” response istransmitted to the caller or message server. In either of the aboveexamples, the message server control logic may interpret the Ringing orOK response as confirmation of message receipt. As an alternative, therecipient may initiate a call to the message server as receiptnotification.

Several features and aspects of the present invention have beenillustrated and described in detail with reference to particularembodiments by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Thoseof skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications to thedisclosed embodiments are within the scope and contemplation of theinvention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention be considered aslimited only by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system in a telecommunications network, the methodcomprising: receiving a data packet comprising message data and a headerfield containing source-specific information identifying a source of thedata packet; identifying one or more intended recipients of the datapacket; and overwriting the source-specific information in the headerfield with the message data.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: forwarding the data packet to the one or more intendedrecipients.
 3. The method of claim 2 further comprising selectivelytranslating the data packet into a protocol recognizable by the one ormore intended recipients.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein theforwarding is further in accordance with the translating.
 5. The methodof claim 4 further comprising: determining whether receipt notificationhas been requested by the source; and responsive to the determining,selectively repeating the forwarding.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe receiving and the identifying include parsing at least part of thedata packet.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising: forwarding thedata packet to enable a caller identification system to display themessage data.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of thetelecommunications network is operative in accordance with SessionInitiation Protocol.
 9. A message system serving text-based datamessages to a caller identification system in a telecommunicationsnetwork, the message system comprising: a message receiver operative toreceive a data packet comprising message data and a header fieldcontaining source-specific information identifying a source of the datapacket; and a header field modifier operative to overwrite thesource-specific information in the header field with the message data.10. The message system of claim 9 further comprising: a message routeroperative to route the data packet, modified by the header fieldmodifier, to one or more intended recipients.
 11. The message system ofclaim 9 wherein the message receiver and the header field modifier areincorporated into a network access device.
 12. The message system ofclaim 11 wherein the message router is incorporated into the networkaccess device.
 13. The message system of claim 9 wherein the messagereceiver and the header field modifier are incorporated into a server.14. The message system of claim 13 wherein the message router isincorporated into the server.
 15. The message system of claim 9 furthercomprising a protocol translator operative to translate the data packetinto a protocol recognizable by the one or more intended recipients. 16.The message system of claim 15 wherein the protocol translator comprisesan integrated access device.
 17. The message system of claim 16 whereinthe protocol translator is configured to translate a Session InitiationProtocol data packet into a protocol recognizable by a public-switchedtelephone network device.
 18. A method of serving text-based datamessages, the method comprising: overwriting source-specific informationin a source header field of a data packet with message data of the datapacket, the data packet further including a recipient header fieldcontaining recipient-specific information related to one or moreintended recipients of the data packet; and creating a modified datapacket in accordance with the overwriting.
 19. The method of claim 18further comprising: forwarding the modified data packet.
 20. The methodof claim 18 further comprising translating the modified data packet intoa protocol recognizable by the one or more intended recipients.
 21. Themethod of claim 19 further comprising: determining for each of the oneor more intended recipients, whether the modified data packet has beenreceived; and selectively repeating the forwarding to ones of the one ormore intended recipients based on the determining.
 22. The method ofclaim 21 further comprising: terminating the selectively repeating basedon a determination that each of the one or more intended recipientsreceived the modified data packet.
 23. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising forwarding the modified data packet to each of the one ormore recipients enable the one or more recipients to display the messagedata on a caller identification system.
 24. The method of claim 19wherein at least part of the telecommunications network is operative inaccordance with Session Initiation Protocol.
 25. A communicationsnetwork system comprising: a message source operative to compose and totransmit a data packet comprising message data and a header fieldcontaining source-specific information identifying the message source,wherein the data packet is to be transmitted to at least one recipientdevice having an associated display for displaying information; and amessage processor operative to create a modified data packet wherein thesource-specific information in the header field is overwritten with themessage data.
 26. The network system of claim 25, further comprising: amessage router operative to route the modified data packet to the atleast one recipient device.
 27. The network system of claim 25 whereinthe message source, and the message processor are incorporated into anetwork access device.
 28. The network system of claim 25 wherein themessage source and the message processor are incorporated into a server.29. The network system of claim 25 further comprising a protocoltranslator operative to translate the modified data packet into aprotocol recognizable by the one or more intended recipients.
 30. Themessage system of claim 29 wherein the protocol translator comprises anintegrated access device.
 31. The message system of claim 29 wherein theprotocol translator is configured to translate Session InitiationProtocol data packets into a protocol recognizable by a public-switchedtelephone network device.
 32. An apparatus comprising: means forreceiving a data packet comprising message data and a header fieldcontaining header information; means for identifying one or moreintended recipients of the data packet; and means for overwriting atleast part of the header information with the message data.
 33. Theapparatus of claim 32, further comprising means for forwarding the datapacket to the one or more intended recipients.
 34. The apparatus ofclaim 32 further comprising means for selectively translating the datapacket into a protocol recognizable by the one or more intendedrecipients.
 35. A method of serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system in a telecommunications network, the methodcomprising: receiving a data packet comprising message data and a headerfield containing header information; identifying one or more intendedrecipients of the data packet; and overwriting at least part of theheader information with the message data.
 36. The method of claim 35further comprising: forwarding the data packet to each of the one ormore intended recipients to enable the one or more intended recipientsto display the message data on a caller identification system.
 37. Amessage system serving text-based data messages to a calleridentification system in a telecommunications network, the messagesystem comprising: a message receiver operative to receive a data packetcomprising message data and a header field containing header informationidentifying a source of the data packet; and a header field modifieroperative to overwrite at least part of the header information with themessage data.
 38. The message system of claim 37 further comprising: amessage router operative to route the data packet, modified by theheader field modifier, to one or more intended recipients.